Guild Wars
'''The Guild Wars '''were a series of conflicts between the guilds and various political factions among humans. Because the guilds have a worldwide presence in Ada, these conflicts were spread across the entire globe and across several different factions. But universally, the conflicts are between political powers and a guild or a group of guilds; these do not reflect any internal guild conflicts with any conflict between two or more guilds. The Guild Wars is a historical term; no war or series of wars bears this simple name. Notable guild wars The Silk War The Silk War was a conflict between the Silk Guild and the Merchants and Trading Guild on one side and Franfer and Custivon on the other. What is particularly notable about this conflict is that it brought the two city states together for the first time. The outcome of this war was a direct catalyst for the First Great Guild War. The First Great Guild War This conflict was publically over two issues: currency and tariff. But in private, part of the fears among the guilds came from the cooperation between Franfer and Custivon. The guilds pried upon waring city-states and wanted to again divide them. Other than this, The Banking Guild wanted a monopoly on the printing of currency. The Merchants and Trading Guild wanted low or no tariffs on their imported goods. Conflict on these issues brought city-states and the two guilds into war often before, but now with the fear of allied city-states, the conflict sharped. Both sides had small but elite forces to address the wars. The Banking Guild often used dwarves as their mercenaries. The Merchants and Trading Guild often hired Sur-Abian forces. Under significant threat of losing nearly all their income, the city-states turned to one another for support; the desperate place the guilds had put them in required it. Instead of driving the city-states apart, the war drew them together. Custivan and Franfer worked in concert in the East. Their efforts paid off. The First Great Guild War was lost by the guilds and the city-states ended up calling for more retribution than was tolerable by the guilds, which itself would propagate the Second Great Guild War. The Second Great Guild War At this point, the guilds had lost nearly all their power; wealth was their only lasting benefit from the war. They did not, however, make nearly as much money in the East and the guilds took up arms again. They attacked Franfer and Custivan with a new passion, forcing the city-states to their knees. Mindful of world politics and power of coalition, Franfer and Custivon convinced Cleothist to the table. While the Merchants and Trading Guild was being punished in the East after the First Great Guild War, it milked Sapt and Cleothist for all they had; in a large way, it is what funded the war in the East. But at long last, Cleothist would take no more and rose up. For the first time in human history, a truly worldwide war was in taking place: Second Great Guild War. Custivon and Franfer in the East with Cleothist in the West waged war against nearly all the Guilds. But Cleothist’s involvement in the West was too late to truly tip the balance. Custivon was sacked and Franfer forces to the table. The guilds won many rights: abolishment of tariffs, a monopoly on currency, and security for the guild system. The Third Great Guild War Before the ink was even dry on the treaty, the city-states were plotting their revenge. The abolishment of tariffs made Franfer wretchedly poor if something wasn’t done. New concerted efforts were made to undermine guild authority. Eventually war broke out again. The conflict had a less definitive ending than the previous, forcing the two sides to compromise. Strictly speaking, the war was won by the city-states, but their victory was partial. A complex arrangement was reached between Custivon and the Banking Guild brokered the treaty marking the end of hostilities. City-states could use their own currency or the Banking Guild’s. The Merchants and Trading Guild had to be able to use both. The Banking Guild maintained its right exclusively offer public loans, though this agreement would be ignored more and more overtime. City-states maintained their rights to tax and set up tariffs. As an added boon, the Banking Guild was guaranteed by Custivon to always store their depository which would back up their currency in Thanger under the supervision of the Banking Guild. Other city-states made a similar arrangement with the Banking Guild as a sign of good faith – though not Franfer initially. The Fourth Great Guild War The Fourth Great Guild War hardly desires to bear that name. It was an unresolvable conflict between intractable nobles in Franfer and the two most predominate guilds. The Banking Guild became wary of the high profits of nobles who were manipulating trade. This latter fact caused for a disgruntled Merchants and Trading Guild. When the Republic of Franfer was seen as weak due to the assembly’s inability to elevate a single commander to combat the threat from the guilds, the guilds took full advantage and pillaged the Frantonian countryside. This caused the Frantonian nobility to recall the monarch from Sai Lai to fight the war. This would bring about the return of the monarch in Franfer. As a final important note, this conflict would be the last major one in Somo and Agraforo – though guild conflicts would continue across Ada for centuries. Category:History Category:Guilds Category:Franfer Category:Frantonian History Category:Frantonian Military Category:Frantonian Society Category:Frantonian Government